Sectarians defile an Orthodox church in the Crimea

"Interfax," August 29, 2005

Simferopol, Crimea - Participants in the music festival ‘White Nights in Tarhankut’ organized by the ‘Ambassadors of God’ sect defiled the Orthodox church dedicated to the Great Martyr Barbara in the Olenevka sea resort on the Crimean western coast.

In a report to Metropolitan Lazar of the Crimea, the head of village, Yuri Shchelok, clergy and laity of the church assert that a group of young people was shooting a clip in the church. During the shooting they covered doors and windows with wooden boards and shouted insults to the Orthodox Church.

‘They insulted religious sentiments by their behaviour and violated the current Ukrainian legislation’, says the document cited by the Novy Region site.

The Orthodox church parishioners said that there was no service celebrated in the church during the incident, as the church has no permanent priest. The believers reported that a group of young people had blocked up the doors and windows of the church building with wooden boards and begun tearing them off in front of the camera. The design of the authors was to symbolize the revival of spirituality.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church press service notes that the ‘Ambassadors of God’ sect is a typical financial pyramid built up on the patter of network marketing that besides commonly used methodology of wringing out money, blasphemously exploits Christian holy objects. The sectarians declare from the church pulpit that ‘God is the most reliable bank that never goes bankrupt. Therefore, your donations to Him will bring you hundredfold returns’.

The press service of the canonical Church notes that collecting of donations in the sect is preceded by moving sermons about the importance of paying one tenth of one’s income and is accompanied by hymns on popular melodies. The parishioners, who do not donate a compulsory tithe, are anathematized. As a result, many sectarians donate not only money, but also securities, cars, apartments, houses and land for the promised benefits and goods, including the eternal life.